So... I‘m familiar with Batrisha but what the hell’s a Creepy Caretaker... and why do I even need to know about stuff like this, anyway? Well... firstly, calm down... and secondly, I’m glad you asked, because it’s an interesting story. As any well-read millennial will tell you, Batrisha was a comic feature that ran in K-Zone magazine about a international exchange student who is also undead. It’s mainly set in the home of the host family or at her school but early in the run, I had the idea that Batrisha would want to escape every now and then and just hang out in the graveyard. Reclining on the moon-chilled marble stones, writing poetry and listening to the sounds of worms burrowing and the lonely cry of the whippoorwill. I imagined a caretaker who works there (at night, for no apparent reason) endlessly raking leaves, who loves to tell a good story. Pictured here (below) is the original design and model sheet of Mr Cryptmoss... then after exhaustive brainstorming: Old Joe Gumboot. The other images (above) are the thumbnail, line art and finished coloured page of his first appearance. This short story was the basis of the new hardcover book, expanding on that idea and reuniting the characters in a completely self-contained... well, not a graphic novel or a storybook.. a lushly illustrated ghost story interspersed by poetry in the form of silent movie-style title cards.
Trust me, you’ll dig it. It’s so close to being fully funded, so ... please consider: kck.st/3jm1FiT |
Comicoz is Nat Karmichael's publishing imprint. Nat is committed to preserving a permanent collection of Australian comic and comic strips. He feels that there is a need to recognise comics' contribution to and depiction of Australian culture.
Nat Karmichael.
Since 2011, Nat has self-published over twelve comic-related books and was Publisher-Editor of Oi Oi Oi! -- the last series of nationally-distributed comic books of original stories to appear on Australian newsstands. He is a member of the Australian Cartoonists Association and edited the Association's journal Inkspot for 14 issues from late 2015. He remains the Lead Judge in the Ledger of Honour Awards for the Comic Arts Awards of Australia (formerly the Ledgers). Nat has now retired from his former occupation as a Clinical Nurse in the Psychiatric Emergency Centre in Queensland's largest public hospital, so that he can spend more time with his long-suffering wife and their six children and fourteen grandchildren. He still plans to publish more comics and comic-related books, the details of which you should see here in the coming months... Comicoz acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respects to elders, past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all First Nations peoples.
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September 2024
Quick LinksAustralian Publications since 1976:
1 x Poster 19 x comics (one a co-production with Cyclone Comics in 1988/9, one a co-production with Cowtown Comics in 2022) 2 x Paperback books 10 x Hardcover books All Australian! |